Sunday 24th February, 2013

Kumasi,
Feb 24, GNA “ Defending Champions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, fought gallantly to
settle for a 3-3 score line in their thrilling Glo-Premier League second round
opener with visiting Liberty Professionals at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi
on Sunday.

The
eventful match saw the two teams exhibiting good technical abilities and it
came as no surprise that the game produced six goals at the end of proceedings.

Liberty
drew first blood as they stunned the Porcupine Warriors in the 22nd minute when
Eben Assifuah™s goal-bound shot took a wicked deflection off Kotoko™s defender,
Joseph Ochaya Benson, and entered the net.

The
two teams, after the goal, squared up fiercely in midfield and battled for
control which made the flow of the gamescrappy.

On
resumption, Kotoko piled up pressure on their opponents and managed to equalize
in the 70th minute with striker Ransford Osei getting on target after missing
some decent chances earlier in the game.

The
Porcupine Warriors fetched the second goal in the 72nd minute courtesy
substitute Seidu Bansi whose close-range thunderbolt zoomed into the yawning
net after Liberty™s goalkeeper Daniel Adjei had been displaced in beautiful combination
by the Kotoko attack.

Sensing
danger, the visitors threw caution to the wind and attacked in droves to snatch
the equalizer in the 78th minute through Kennedy Ashia.

Ashia
again was on the scoring sheet as he scored the third goal for Liberty in the
86th minute when he connected home an Assifuah in-swinger.

Kotoko,
with defeat staring them in the face, resorted to long passes and in one of
their dangerous moves upfront saw Michael Anaba being brought down in the
18-yard box for a spot-kick on the stroke of time.

Kwabena
Adusei converted the kick to level for the Porcupine Warriors.